An Outline of Hausa Grammar

59 Pages·6.453 MB·Afrikaans-English

by  Carleton T.H.

SUPPLEMENT TO
LANGUAGE
OF THE LINGUISTIC
JOURNAL
SOCIETY OF AMERICA
EDITEDB Y
BERNARD BLOCH
Yale University
ALBERT C. BAUGH M. B. EMENEAU
Universityo f Pennsylvania University of California
ROBERT A. HALL JR.
CornellU niversity
VOL. 23, NO. 4, SUPPL. OCTOBER-DECEMBER1 947
LANGUAGE DISSERTATION NO. 41
AN OUTLINE OF
HAUSA GRAMMAR
BY
CARLETONT AYLORH ODGE
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIAD ISSERTATION
Publishedb y
LINGUISTIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
ATT HEW AVERLYP RESS,I NC.
MOUNT ROYAL AND GUILFORD AVENUES
BALTIMORE-2, MD.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I. PHONOLOGY..... ...................................... 8
1.1 Phonemes ......................... 8
...............
1.2 Stops.................... ................ . 8
1.2.1 /t, d, d?, b, b?/........................ ................ 8
1.2.2 Labialization before /u, oo/ ................................ 8
1.2.3 Palatalization before /i, ii, ee, y/........................... 8
1.2.4 /k, k?, g/ elsewhere............. ....................... 9
1.2.5 /?/ glottal stop ........... .............................. 9
1.3 Glottalized consonants........... 9
...........................
1.4 Spirants and affricants /f, s, s?, z, c, c?, j, , h/................... 9
1.5 Nasals /m, n/.................................... 10
1.6 Laterals /r, r, 1/ ................... ....................... 11
1.6.1 /r, r/ ............ 11
............................ ............
1.6.2 /1/ ................................................. 12
1.6.3 Anaptyxis with laterals................ ................... 12
1.7 Semivowels /w, y/ ........................................12
1.8 Sequences of like phonemes, consonants ......................... 13
1.9 Vowel length..................... ....................... 13
1.10 Vowel quality.................. ......................... 14
1.10.1 . 14
/i/................................................
1.10.2 /ee/ ................... ................................. 14
1.10.3 Umlaut........................................... 14
1.10.4 /u, uu, oo, a, aa/ otherwise................... .......... . 14
1.11 Tone.................................................. 15
1.11.1 Narrative Contour............ ....................... 15
1.11.2 Interrogative Contour ................................. 16
1.12 Junctures .............................................. 17
1.12.1 Close Juncture ....................................... 17
1.12.2 Open juncture................. ...................... 17
1.12.3 Tone phrase juncture .................................. 17
1.13 Stress ........................ ....................... 17
1.14 Phonemic distribution.............. ...................... 18
1.14.1 . 18
Vowels.............................................
1.14.2 Consonants, single ................. ................... 18
1.14.3 Consonants, initial clusters ............................. 19
...
1.14.4 Consonants, medial clusters.............................. 19
CHAPTER II. PHONOLOGIC ALTERNATION AND MORPHEME VARIANTS... 24
2.1 Morpheme types.. .............. ..........24
2.2 Regular phonologic alternation.......................... ......... . 24
..........
2.2.1 Morphophonemes involved............................... 24
2.2.2 Palatalization.................. ....... . 24
.......... .. .
5
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6 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
2;2.3 Nasals .............................................. 25
2.2.4 25
Semivowels............................................
2.2.5 Replacemenotf /r/ by .............. ........... ..... 26
2.2.6 /f/, F ................... /./ ... ........................ 26
2.2.7 Vowels in closed syllables. ........................ 26
2.2.8 Morphonemes E, (e), O, A, I .................. ........... ...... 27
2.3 Variants of individual morphemes................. ..........27
2.3.1 Noun variants before open juncture 27
.........................
2.3.2 Noun variants before affix juncture 27
.......................
2.3.3 Pronoun alternants............. ........... ............ 28
2.3.4 na, ta. . 32
........
2.3.5 The indefinite w..a. -......... .......... ........... ............. ............. 33
%
2.3.6 Interrogatives mi., w %..... . .. . 34
2.3.7 Verb yi. ................ 34
.........................
2.3.8 Negative baa ............ ........................ 34
CHAPTER III. MORPHOLOGOYF T HEN OUN ................... ...... 35
3.1 Introduction ............. ............... ............. 35
3.1.1 Bases ...................... ....................... 35
3.1.2 Tone............ 35
...............................
3.1.3 Levels of formation .. .. .................................. 36
3.1.4 Forms of the stem............ ......................... 36
3.2 Base as stem ................................... 36
3.2.1 Simple noun................ ........................ ..37
3.2.2 Verbal nouns. ............... ...................... 37
3.2.3 Deverbal nouns............ .......................... 37
3.3 Extended noun bases.................................... 39
3.3.1 Reduplicated bases.............. ................. 39
3.3.2 Prefix extensions of the base............o................ 39
3.3.3 Base extended by suffix ................ ............... 40
3.4 Affixes to the stem............. ............. ............ 40
3.4.1 Loss to base.................... ....... 40
3.4.2 Groups of related affixes................... ........... 40
3.4.3 Relation of affixes to tone............. ................ 41
3.4.4 Sequence of affixes......... .... ......... ............. 41
3.5 Relation of stem formations to affixes 42
3.5.1 Simple noun-possible affixes........................................... ......... . 43
3.5.2 Deverbal nouns-possible . 46
3.5.3 Extended noun bases-possiabflfei xeas.f.f.i..x..e.s............................. . 46
3.6 Extended stems.................. ... .. ................. ... 47
3.6.1 Reduplication with replacement -aa-. ..................... 47
3.6.2 Prefix formations, ba-, ma-.... 47
........... ..........
3.6.3 Prefix CVC-. ......... 47
...............................
3.6.4 Infix formations ....................... 47
3.6.5 Suffix formations..................................... ................ 48
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 7
PAGE
CHAPTER IV. MORPHOLOGY OF THE VERB ......................... 51
4.1 Levels of formation ...................................... ..51
4.1.1 Base ................................................ 51
4.1.2 Stem ............................................... 51
4.2 Verb bases............................................ 51
4.2.1 Simple verb bases ............... ....................... 51
4.2.2 Denominative verbs............ 51
.......................
4.2.3 Extended verb bases................................... 52
4.3 Formation of the 52
stem......................................
4.3.1 Interrelations of stems ................................. 52
4.3.2 Object of verb's action ................................ 52
4.4 Affixes to the stem ........................................ 54
4.4.1 Prefixes ................................ .............54
4.4.2 Elements following verb stem 54
...........................
4.5 Tone sets 54
..............................................
4.5.1-24 List of tone sets ..................................... 54
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PREFACE
The following description is based upon the speech of Mr. John Frank (Abdu
Hassan) of New York City. Mr. Frank is a native of Katsina province in
Northern Nigeria. The numerous grammars and collections of texts are, as
far as I have examined them, of other dialects, stressing that of Kano. They
have occasionally been used as guides for the interpretation of material elicited
from Mr. Frank. The dictionaries note Katsina forms but have not been used
as sources. The dictionary of Rev. G. P. Bargery (G. P. Bargery, A Hausa-
English Dictionary and English-Hausa Vocabulary, London, 1934) has been
extensively referred to, and quotations from it are noted with (BD).
I am indebted to the American Council of Learned Societies, whose generous
grants have enabled me to undertake and publish this work. I also wish to
express my gratitude to Professor Z. S. Harris for his constant advice and
constructive criticism. My thanks are also due to Miss Helen E. Hause, whose
musical training has been of inestimable aid in the problems of tone and vowel
length.
ABBREVIATIONS
BD G. P. Bargery, A Hausa-English Dictionary and English-Hausa
Vocabulary, London, 1934
GHL F. W. H. Migeod, A Grammar of the Hausa Language, London, 1914
HD C. H. Robinson, Hausa Dictionary, Vol. I, Cambridge, 1899 (Fourth
edition, 2 vols., Cambridge, 1925)
HG C. H. Robinson, Hausa Grammar, Fifth edition 1925, reprinted
London, 1942
HT C. T. Hodge and H. E. Hause, 'Hausa Tone', Journal of the American
Oriental Society 64 (1944), pp. 51, 52.
ISH R. C. Abraham, An Introduction to Spoken Hausa and Hausa Reader
for European Students, 1940
LH A. Mischlich, Lehrbuch der Hausasprache, Berlin, 1902
MA C. T. Hodge, 'Morpheme Alternants and the Noun Phrase in Hausa',
Language 21 (1945), pp. 87-91
MGSH R. C. Abraham, A Modern Grammar of Spoken Hausa, 1941
NPH A. L. James and G. P. Bargery, 'A Note on the Pronunciation of
Hausa', Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, London, Vol. 3
(1925), pp. 721-728
PH R. C. Abraham, Principles of Hausa, Kaduna, 1934
PHP J. H. Greenberg, 'Some Problems in Hausa Phonology', Language 17
(1941), pp. 316-323
SH Carl Meinhof, Die Sprachen der Hamiten, Hamburg, 1912
WHS A. Mischlich, Woerterbuch der Hausasprache, 1906
3
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CHAPTER I
PHONOLOGY
1.1. Phonemes. Hausa has the followingp honemes:1
Consonants:
Voiceless (p) t k fh s c ?
Voiceless k? s? c?
glottalized
Voiced b dg z j mnyrl
Voiced b? d?
glottalized
Semivowels w y
Vowels: ieuoa
Tones: 2 high ' low '
Junctures: close (no specialm arker)o pen / # / tone phrase/ /
1.2. Stops
1.2.1. /t/ voiceless aspirated dental stop
taagdd [5t'a::1gA:']w indow'
/d/ voiced dental stop
daf!i [5de::hi:']p oison'
/d?/ voiced glottalized dental stop
daa [5d?a:-']c hild,s on'
/b/ bilabial voiced stop
bangoo 'wall of a house'
[5ba'-gwo:"]
/b?/ bilabialg lottalizedv oiced stop
baawaa [5b?a::wa:-']b ark of a tree'
1.2.2. Labializationb efore /u/, /oo/. /b, b?, k, k?, g/ are [bw, b?w, kw,
k?w, gW] before /u/, /oo/. This labialization is not uniformly regular but
sometimes varies considerablyi n the same morpheme. It does not occur
before /uu/.
E.g. Mbookii 'friend'. bVootdd[ 1bwoo:::1t'a:]' handle'. Mbitaa
[1?a-'bwo::!i:"]
'friendship' kusa [Skwv:sa.]' near'. koomii [Skwo::mi:-] 'any-
[l?a'bwv'5t'a:-].
thing'. kudaa [5k?wv:da:-']f ly'. kMookT[i5 k?wo::lk?i:']a kind of insect'. gusin,
[Sgwv:lsvD'S] outh'. gqdgee 'a string instrument'.
1.2.3. Palatalization befo[lrgew /oi:,' -gee,: ']y /. /k/ and /g/ are [k, l] (i.e. slightly
palatalized) before /i, e, y/.3
E.g. kimbaa 'black pepper'. kiifii [5ki::hi:-']f ish'. kIdkee[ 'ie:'51e:-}
[6kL'mba:-]
'cart'. kydnkyasdd [1kyei5kye:1so:] 'roach'. gisirii 'salt'. giiwaa
[5(cid:127):(cid:127):ri:']
[5 'elephant'. geeml [5 e::'mi:] 'goatee'. gyaaraa 'shaving,
fixii:n:wg'a.: '] [5gye::ra:.]
1 Compare BD xxi-xxiv, NPH, PHP.
2 High tone is unmarked in phonemic writing, the sign ' being used only in giving tone in
formulae.
3 This palatalization is a more front position of the consonant but has no strong offglide
as does the speech described by others (HD xix, xx, BD xxii [n. 5], MGSH 4, PHP, NPH 723).
8
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PHONOLOGY 9
1.2.4. In all other positions /k, k?, g/ are as fdllows:
/k/ [k'] voiceless aspirated velar stop.
E.g. kay [5k'a-'li]' head'. kay [6k'acy]' you (m.)'. kddmaa 'a roast'.
['k'a:'5ma:']
kuusuid [5k'u: :1su:]' rat'.
/k?/ [k?] voiceless glottalized velar stop.
E.g. kfafdd [5k?a:1hwa:]'f oot'. lkdcee 'peering' (noun). kfuugid
['le:'5k?e:-]
[Sk?u::lgu:]' lower part of back'.
/g/ [g] voiced velar stop.
E.g. gdngaa [gacs5ga:.]' drum'. g'iluul4 'lump of clay on spindle
[Igu:-1u':'lu:]
as balance'.
1.2.5. /?/ [?] glottal stop.
E.g. ?dfoo 'garlic'. Idriifa4 ['(cid:127)E**'i::'?a:] 'court, law'. mdyfarda
['?a'5ho:']
[lmayShworl?a:]' a jolly person'.
1.3. Glottalized consonants.
Stops. /b, d, k/ have glottalized counterparts /b?, d?, k?/.4 Phonetically
these latter phonemes are the corresponding stops interrupted by a glottal stop,
then released, followed by the release of the glottal stop. Using vvvv for voicing,
/ for release, ..... for the stops, and ------- for the glottal stop, we have:
--------
/b?, d?/ /k?/ -------/
......../ ....../
vvvV
The effect of glottalization is seen not only in the cessation of voicing but also
in the nature of the release. In /b?/ the lips are snapped vertically apart, with
no aspiration whatsoever. /d?/ has a similar release. In /k?/ the release of
the [k] is very light.
Spirants. /s, c/ have glottalized counterparts /s?, c?/. In the latter [s]
and [6] cease on the onset of [?].
That the glottalized series are separate phonemes need not be discussed here
except in regard to their being unit phonemes, not clusters of consonant plus
glottal stop. Beside the phonetic unity, which is not necessarily conclusive,
we have the criterion of vowel length, as well as the patterning of consonants
(distribution). The glottalized series act as single consonants in that a preceding
vowel in the same morpheme has the same length as it would were the correspond-
ing simple stop there (see 1.9).
E.g. badkii 'mouth'. baik4ii [lba:.'k?i:-] 'strangers'. Secondly, there
[iba:'-ki:"]
are no initial clusters of stop plus stop, or stop plus stop plus semivowel. These
would be foreign to the whole syllabic pattern of the language. The initial
clusters which do occur have semivowels (w, y) as second members of the clusters
(1.14.3). Compare:
khyalklydlii ['k?yeld'k?ye.5li:']a glittering'
kydnkyasdd [i'yEfk5yE: 1so:] 'roach'.
1.4. Spirants and affricates /f, s, s?, z, c, c?, j, 4, h/.
/f/ This phoneme has a wide phonetic range. For alternation with /h/
see 2.2.6.
4Compare particularly NPH 723, 724.
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10 LANGUAGE DISSERTATION NO. 41, 1947
[0] or [hw]b efore /a/ or single /u/.
E.g. farii [shwAri:-] 'a white one'. fddraa 'locusts'. fus'ii
[6hwv:gi:']
'anger'. fukumc~i [54v:kv-mi6i:]'r ule'. [lhwa:?.Fa:-]
[h] before /i, e, o/ and /uu/.
E.g. fJifike 'wing'. kOarfii 'strength'. kOarfU
[h'h'h-:l1ke:] [6k?acr'hi:']
[Sk?a.rilhe:]' iron'. f6dtoo [iho:5st'o:-]' picture'. fidlaa 'hat'.
[ihu":51(:']
[f], a sound very similar to English f, is a rarer variant before any vowel.
It is partly free.
E.g. wddfii or 'a foolish one'. ffifuu 'lungs'.
['wo:'5hi:-] [lwo:.5fi:.] [ifu:-5fu:"]
fallasda 'Reveal a person's secrets and expose him to ridicule or
[ifAP!5E:1sA:"]
punishment' (BD). fddtoo [Ifo:-'t'o: ] 'picture'.
[b], [p] or [f] before voiceless consonant or / /.
E.g. taffee ['t'ap5~e: ], or 'squash soup'. ?alif [5?a:1lLp]o r
[it'abe:'] [It'afge:']
'thousand'.
[5?Qa:llLf]
[p'] is a rare variant in syllabic initial, found regularly in a few words and
sporadically in others.'
E.g. pilpildd [5p'c1l'p'~:1lo:']b utterfly'. paawdd [5p'a::1wa:]' butcher's trade'.
pdmpam 'that's all'.
[1p'am5p'a'm]
/s/ voicelessd ental spirant [s].
E.g. sall& 'prayer'. siriik0i 'a flute'.
[5sac'la"] [Isc'1ri::'k?i:]
/s?/ [s?] glottalized dental spirant.
E.g. saka* [5s?A:lk'a]' middle'. stoofoo [5s?o::ho:.] 'an old one'.
/z/ [z] voiced dental spirant.
E.g. zanii [5ze:lni:]' a type of woman's dress'. ziinaarityad 'gold'.
[5zi::na::1'i'ya:]
/c/ [c] voiceless dental affricate.
E.g. caacaa [1ca::ca:-]' gambling'. cinya` 'thigh, hip'.
[65'0a'ye]
/c?/ [0?] glottalized voiceless dental affricate.
E.g. c?~daa [Ic?ar 'expensiveness'.
:da:']
/j/ voiced palatal affricate. This is the voiced counterpart of both /c/ and /S/
and is neither ['] nor [i], though closer to the former: [%].
E.g. jaa ['5a:-] 'a red one'. jirgii [561^~gi:-]' boat'.
/S/ [S]v oiceless dental spirant.
E.g. saafdd [5sa::1ho:]'h awk'. 'inkaafaa [ll~L5k'a::hw":'-r]i ce'.
/h/ [h] spirant. This is a defective phoneme, occurring only before /a/ (in
contrast to /f/ [hw]). Before all other vowels [h] is /f/.
E.g. halii [5ha:li:-] 'mind'. hale'e [5ha?:1I'e:']t ongue'.
1.5. Nasals /m/ and /n/.
/m/ bilabial voiced nasal.
7
["~] or [m] before / /. As the first transcription indicates, it is sometimes
very lightly pronounced with nasalization of the preceding vowel. It is normally
unreleased.
E.g. mzitum [imv.5t't"m] 'person'. jitrum 'jail'. In the
[imv'5t'v'm],
['8a:'*.v'm]
5 Compare NPH 725, PH 3, HG 178, 179, MGSH 3, WHS x, xi. On another analysis,
perhaps preferable, /p/ and /f/ would be separate phonemes. /p/ would be a defective
phoneme, occurring only before vowels. Certain morphemes would have alternants with
/p/ and /f/ as optional or limited variants.
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PHONOLOGY 11
following word it has loose contact, usually with an anaptyctic vowel (only
example noted before /j/): gamtfi [5gA'm0'i :], 'gutta percha tree'.
[5gA'ml1i:]
Elsewhere it is [m].
E.g. k0dzamtda 'nastiness'. ttmbii [lt'vmsbi:-] 'stomach (as
[lk?aI5za'mlt'a:]
organ)'. dumbNuu[ 5dv'mb?u:']' a worn out tool'. lumsaa4ii [5lv-msa:::i:-]' alter-
nate breaking and closing (as of the lips in smiling or the sun appearing and dis-
appearing in clouds)'. dam"ii :-]' dampness'. damcdW[ 5da-mlc?e:]' upper
[5da'-mi
arm'. k0dmnaa 'loving'. zumwdd [5zvmlcwa:]' honey'. gwamroo
[lk?am6na:"]
'previously married but now wifeless man'.
[sgwa-mro:']
/n/ dental voiced nasal.
[u]b efore /k, k?, g, ?, h, w, y/, [4, hw, hi (as variants of /f/).
E.g. finkaafaa [1AIUSk'a::h:w] a' rice'. k0dnk'annk8 'a small one'.
[lk?ax5k?a'-nle:]
iingee 'a farm fence'. wan~tn 'that'. Fid6nhaguu
[5L~'Ue:'] [wayclY? LO]
'left eye'. kanwaa 'potash, soda'. cinyd [56cieye]
1?6t:3do.4ha:gu:-] [5k'aDiwa:']
'thigh'. fidnfdanii 'usefulness'. sanfdh3 'basket made
[l?cajhwa:'Ini:-] [5sa'glho:']
of woven palm leaves'.
[1], [n], or [2`] before / /.
E.g. sdttin [1sat"'LI] 'sixty'. wanndn 'this'. ?dlkirFan [falk'vt?an],
more commonly 'Koran'[. 6wa'n-'0]
[1?alk'vi5?ar]
[~]b efore /r, r, 1/, apparentlyw ith lengtheningo f the followingc onsonant.
E.g. naamdnradkumii [sna::3m .r-a-4k?u:m:i] 'camel meat'. Pyanrddfii
'irrigation workers' (lit. 'children of irrigated farmland').
[5?y~'3.ra:.4hi:-]
maaganinrdyray [5ma::3gA-ni~'2.cy3~ayy ] 'remedy for sand'. ganinradmakka
[5gA:ni 'the seeing of your emaciated condition'. ?yanldmbuu
(cid:127) a:'mA-k.'1Ax]
'irrigation workers' (lit. 'children of irrigating').
[5?y~'+13am4bu:-]
Should the nasalization be absent, this would be a replacement of /n/ by the
consonant following.
[n] elsewhere.
E.g. ?antd4 [5?a-nlt'a:] 'liver'. binsuruu [lbwvn5s:vr u:-] 'billy goat'. sunsfuu
[5s?u.ns?u:'] 'bird'. hancd [5ha-nn1i:] 'nose'. hanjii [5ha-nii:-] 'intestines'.
banzaa :] 'foolish thing'. niisaa [Ini::sa:-]' far off'.
[5ba'nza
1.6. Laterals /r, r, 1/.
1.6.1. /T, r/. Hausa has two r's: [r], which is trilled (two or more tongue tip
flaps) and [r], a flap r with tongue forward, giving an "1"e ffect, especially before
front vowels.' That the two are different phonemes is shown by the pair:
kuuradyee[ 5k'u::3ra:4 ye :] 'hyaenas' (sg. kuuraa)
kuurddyee [5k'u::3ra:-?4e:'-c]o ne-shaped drums' (sg. kuuriU")
The pair used by Bargery and Abraham is :
barAd[ 5 bA:l1a:] 'servant'
bardA [5b :1fa:] 'begging'
Other examples of the two are:
/r/ murad [5mv:ira:]'h ead cold'. fdrawt&a[dih w'w5Fawlt'a:']h unting'. kurndd
'a cultivated tree'.
[Skwv
"ranIL:]
6 Compare HG 8, 1 and r. See also SH 58 fn. 1, NPH 725, MGSH 3, 4.
SBD xxii (n. 8), see other examples given there also; PH 4, MGSH 4.
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12 LANGUAGE DISSERTATION NO. 41, 1947
/r/ kuraddaa [5kwv:3rca:4da:'-a] hatchet to cut hay'. cOirdd [5c?
:1'o:']
'sprouting'. birii [5b :l1i:] 'monkey'. riigaa 'type of clothing'.
[ini:'5ga:]j
1.6.2. /1/. [i], a more frontal 1 than in English.
E.g. 2dlade 'pig'. laakaa [Sla::k'a:-] 'mud'. 1Mfee 'a
basket for ginn[l?eda- 1clo(cid:127):ltdtoe:n] '. luuydd [51u::lya:]' lawyer'. [l'e:'5he:-]
1.6.3. Anaptyxis with laterals.
In clusters of /rC/ and /1C/ the contact between the lateral and the following
consonant is loose, and there is a very short non-phonemic vowel. The quality
of this vowel is determined by phonetic context. Using the symbol R for
'lateral', we have the following formulae:
Rw is [Ruw] Ry is [Riy] RCi and RCe are [RLCi]a nd [R'Ce]
Elsewhere VIRC is [VIRViC, [v'] following the quality of the vowel preceding R.
The tone of the anaptyctic vowel is the same as that of the preceding vowel.
The quality also varies, usually according to the allophone of the determining
phoneme, though anaptyctic [i] is usually ['] when determined by an [i]. E.g.:
Rw, Ry kis'urwaa [Sk?t:vf-r~uwa':t]h irst'. &dlwas[41 ?alu'WA:1sA']t he width
of any material as woven' (BD). k2waryaa [5k?wairiya:-]' large calabash'.
RCi, RCe zurfii [5zv~r'hi:-]' depth'. kOarfi [5k?a-r'ihe:] 'iron'. gulbii
[5gwv-llbi:-']r iver'. falke [5h'a.!-lke:] 'trader'.
VRC kurkutu [Skwv-?kw'v:t'u'-s]m all drum'. kulbdd [5kwv-lulb?a:'l]i zard'.
girmaa [5gPrLma:-]'l argeness, large size'. bincilmay [1btn~dl'5ma-y']o striches'.
sarmdyii :] 'young man'. taakalmdd :] 'sandals'.8
[5sE(cid:127)-'Ema'(cid:127)Yi [5t'a::ka'laima
1.7. Semivowels /w, y/
/w/ and /y/ in intervocalic position before or after homorganic vowels are
[w] and [Y]r espectively. This is not a mere glide but a lighter (less audible)
pronunciation. This may be seen by a comparison of may [5ma'r(Y)i'.]g rease,
butter' with maayee [5ma::1Ye:']w izard', although these are not a perfect pair.
In may the y is phonetically a slight glide plus [i-], whereas the y in maayee is
much stronger. The degree of lightness is not always uniform, but these
minutiae are not distinguished in the following examples.'
/w/ saawuu [5sa::'u:-] 'footprint'. 2etdk4awu[u1 3?'k't:'5wU:]' 'clerk'. saawoo
[5s?a::wo:-] 'length'. ciiwdd [65i::lwo:] 'sickness'. tuwdd [5t'u:lwo:]' a thick por-
ridge'. 2inguwaa 'district'. tagzwaa [5t'A:1gu-wa:-]' a kind of shirt'.
[1?v~5gu:'a":]
koowaa [5kwo::cwa:'e-]v erybody'. mayroowd [1mayc5ro::lw'ast]i ngy person'.
/y/ makiyii [5mi :3k?i-4yi:-]' hater'. makly&&yii [5nm:3ki 'herder'.
a:'Y i:']
s2unsadyee 'birds'. gaskeeyaa [5gA-ske::Ya:-]' truth'. luublyaa
[5s?u-n3s?a:'-Ye:-]
'ripe fruit'. biyuu 'two'.
[5(cid:127)uE::l3sebwi'4hyear:e-] /w, y/ are similar to[5 Ebni:gyluis:h'] w, y: [w], [y].
E.g. wani [5we: ni-] 'anyone, someone'. wdndoo [1wancdo:-]' trousers'. yunw4a
[5yvv'-lwa:]'h unger'. yaard% [5ya::-1o:] 'boy'.
8 Stress may fall on an anaptyctic vowel: ki'rkNi [6kL'rilki. The length of the vowels
(preceding and anaptyctic) is affected and the statement of vowel length would undoubtedly
be modified in some details by a careful study of the stress. The presence or absence of the
anaptyctic vowel should also be more narrowly defined. It is absent, for example, in
halW 'tongue' (but kil) with anaptyctic vowel).
9 Compare LH 4 (and fn. 1).
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